Asif Khan has unveiled a pavilion at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, described as the "darkest building on earth". The Olympic pavilion is entirely coated with Vantablack VBx2 and illuminated by thousands of tiny white light rods. These rods extend from the structure's parabolic super-black facade and create the illusion of a field of stars suspended in space. Looking at the building will be the closest experience to looking into space from a point on Earth.
Asif Khan spray-painted the exterior of the 35x35m temporary structure, 10-metre-high, with Vantablack VBx2, a substance that absorbs over 99 per cent of light hitting its surface.
Because Vantablack VBx2 absorbs 99% of light, it is hard for the human eye to make out any depth because no light is reflected back to the viewer. In the absence of color, light and depth, a viewer's perception of space is transformed from every viewing angle. A 3D building can be rendered completely flat.
Asif Khan spray-painted the exterior of the 35x35m temporary structure, 10-metre-high, with Vantablack VBx2, a substance that absorbs over 99 per cent of light hitting its surface.
Because Vantablack VBx2 absorbs 99% of light, it is hard for the human eye to make out any depth because no light is reflected back to the viewer. In the absence of color, light and depth, a viewer's perception of space is transformed from every viewing angle. A 3D building can be rendered completely flat.
’From a distance the structure has the appearance of a window looking into the depths of outer space,’ Asif Khan said in a statement. ’As you approach it, this impression grows to fill your entire field of view. So on entering the building, it feels as though you are being absorbed into a cloud of blackness.’
Asif Khan added, ’The water installation visitors discover inside is brightly lit in white. As your eyes adjust, you feel for a moment that the tiny water drops are at the scale of the stars. A water droplet is a size every visitor is familiar with. In the project I wanted to move from the scale of the cosmos to the scale of water droplets in a few steps. The droplets contain the same hydrogen from the beginning of the universe as the stars.’
Asif Khan added, ’The water installation visitors discover inside is brightly lit in white. As your eyes adjust, you feel for a moment that the tiny water drops are at the scale of the stars. A water droplet is a size every visitor is familiar with. In the project I wanted to move from the scale of the cosmos to the scale of water droplets in a few steps. The droplets contain the same hydrogen from the beginning of the universe as the stars.’
